The Effects of health literacy promotion and Social Support Program on health literacy and self-care behaviors among elderly people with diabetes

Abstract

This study was a quasi-experimental research using a two-group pre-post test design. The objective was to examine the effects of a health literacy promotion program combined with social support on health literacy and self-care behaviors among older adults with diabetes. The sample consisted of 74 elderly people with diabetes receiving services at a sub-district health promoting hospital in Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. Participants were divided into an experimental group and a control group, with 37 individuals in each. Participants were selected based on specific inclusion criteria and matched in pairs using their health literacy scores before being assigned to either group. Data were collected from April to June 2025, a period of 12 weeks. The experimental group received the health literacy promotion program combined with social support, while the control group received routine nursing care. The research instruments included personal characteristics questionnaire, health literacy questionnaire for elderly people with diabetes, self-care behavior questionnaire for elderly people with diabetes. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the latter two questionnaires were 0.89 and 0.80, respectively, indicating high reliability. Data was analyzed using Descriptive statistics, Paired t-tests, and Independent t-tests.

            The research results showed that the experimental group, which received the health literacy promotion and Social Support Program, showed a statistically significant difference in the overall mean scores of health literacy and self-care behaviors before and after the intervention (p < .001). Additionally, after the intervention, the overall mean scores of health literacy and self-care behaviors of the experimental group were significantly different from those of the control group, which received routine nursing care (p < .001).

Recommendations the health literacy promotion and Social Support Program can be applied to elderly people with diabetes during the discharge planning phase in hospitals.